It's a great idea! Our first dd was awful for the first month (night/day mixed up and colicky) and we spent a lot of time alternating between sleeping on the sofa! If you've got the space you may as well do it, you might find you don't use it, my second dd is totally different, slept very well at night from day 1 but we've still had bad nights when she's been teething etc and luckily we have spare rooms now so one of us has gone in the spare room when things have got bad!

This is what I have planned. My dh does not cope without sleep and he does a lot of driving and Im worried he wont be safe. He also needs to be on the ball at work as he works for himself.

I also don't cope well without sleep but I have my parents/dgp on hand who are more than happy to help out in any way so in theory I can catch up throughout the day. I only plan to do this for the first three months then re-assess.

Id rather one of us was sane than us both losing sleep- that's when we argue.

I think my dh thinks or at least thought this was a bit weird but he understands that I have his best interests at heart and its only temporary.

Yes, this is a great idea. We did this and used it to make sure one of us was getting a good nights sleep when dd was still in our room, and to stay near her when she was in her own room and poorly or had nightmares. There was also the added bonus that when she was 18 maths she just declared she was going to sleep in the big bed now, and made the transition very easily.

It's a great idea. In DD's nursery we had a sofa that I could sleep on. In DS's nursery space was a bit cramped so I had a blow up matress leaning against the wall behind the door for nights when I needed to sleep on the floor.Best of all is having a spare room where DH can sleep and being able to co-sleep uninterrupted.

Totally worth it. My (ex) husband used to get really narky about "broken sleep" of me getting up in the night to go to DD1's cot in our room. There was a spare bed in the nursery. So I just moved her cot in there and slept there. (of course i should have claimed the bigger room then). But in a more 'reasonable' relatiinship i can see it being just handy. Rather than essential. Well worth it.

We're setting up two bedrooms - me in our normal one with the kid for a few months (probably won't make it to the recommended 6 months), and him in the spare room during the week (and possibly at weekends too).

Once I'm back at work, the kid has to be in its own room so I can co-sleep with my partner again! We're already sort of in two rooms, since it's so bloody hot I can't bear being near anyone.

Do it! We got a cheap ikea single bed and we keep it made up. For the first few months the baby was in with us, but it has really come into its own in the later stages over the last two years - once night feeds were no longer a thing, there were still frequent stretches of teething, sickness, nightmares, ditching the dummy. Not to mention the 8-12 months age where my son was up and ready to play at or before 6am every day, so whoever was on morning duty could give milk, nappy change, dump a load of toys in the cot and hop back into the bed beside the cot for a quick doze - while still being on hand if needed. (That was what we did to give the other parent a proper lie in, one each day of the weekend, when we weren't really feeling it ourselves!)

We always had a couch bed/futon or a double bed in DD2's room (DD1 wasn't so lucky, we only had space from when she was 18 months). It's great for nights when she isn't well or is having a disturbed night, even now she is nearly 3.

And DD1 moves in there to have a "sleepover" whenever MIL visits and needs her bed.

I don't understand why people do the whole change when they feed at night - way to make a rod for your own back! We just latch on, eat, wind a bit when they're very little nd go back to sleep. OH sleeps in the bed with us and never found it particularly disturbing. Neither did I.

Are some babies just fussy about not having a bone dry nappy? Mine couldn't care less unless they've pooed.